Step by Step with Quaid-e-Azam: Dr. Muhammad Afzal Hussain Qadri
This book, “Husool-e-Pakistan tak Quaid-e-Azam ke hamrah: Dr. Muhammad Afzal Hussain Qadri”, covers the political activities and educational services of Dr. Muhammad Afzal Hussain Qadri, who was a vibrant activist of the Pakistan Movement and the joint creator of the “Aligarh Scheme” along with Professor Zafrul Hassan, which presented a practical outline of the partition of the subcontinent. They have profound effects on the political and academic history of Pakistan.
Dr. Muhammad Afzal Hussain Qadri, was born on February 7, 1912, in Badayon, India, and obtained his MSc in Zoology from Aligarh Muslim University in 1932. He did his first Ph.D. at Muslim University Aligarh in 1936 and accomplished the other one at Cambridge University in 1938. It was the year 1950 when he received the honor of being the first Doctor of Science from the Aligarh Muslim University, India. Dr. Qadri was also elected a Fellow of the Pakistan Association for Advancement of Science, Scientific Society of Pakistan, and Pakistan Association of Scientists and Scientific Professions. In 1966, Dr. Qadri founded the Zoological Research Center for Advanced Research in Biological Sciences at the University of Karachi and became the Dean of the Faculty, which later for his services named M.A.H.Q. Biological and Research Centre. He also had the honor of being the first Professor Emeritus of the University of Karachi. In recognition of his scientific and political struggle, Dr. Qadri was awarded gold medals by the Pakistan Academy of Science in 1968, the Government of Pakistan in 1969, and the Government of Sindh in 1987.A wide range of topics has been covered in the mentioned book, compiled and edited by Muhammad Mashhood Qasmi, which describe in length his services for Muslim politics in India and his educational services 1st in India and thereafter in Pakistan.
Dr. Afzal Hussain Qadri initiated his politics from the platform of the All India Muslim League when he was a student in Aligarh. He went to Cambridge for his Ph.D. where he joined the Pakistan National Movement of Chaudhary Rahmat Ali. On his return to India from England in 1938, he began teaching and research at Aligarh University. In the meantime, he also participated in political activities as a member of the All India Muslim League. Dr. Qadri served as a member of the Pirpur Education Committee, and also proposed the Aligarh Scheme of Partition of India along with Prof. Zafarul Hasan. On 14 August 1939, the scheme was published in the form of a pamphlet from Aligarh entitled:
“The problems of Indian Muslims and its solution”.
The Aligarh scheme clearly stated that the Muslims of India are a nation unto themselves. They have a separate national identity which is completely different from Hindus and other non-Muslim groups. The future of the Muslims of India lies in complete freedom from the domination of the Hindus, the British, or any other power.
In the decisive elections of 1945-46, Dr. Afzal Qadri campaigned nationwide for the Muslim League along with the staff and students of Aligarh University and served as a convener in the Education Committee of the Muslim League. Dr. Qadri also has the honor of performing the duties of spokesman of Quaid-e-Azam on many occasions. Dr. Afzal Hussain Qadri’s constant contact and consultative role with Quaid-e-Azam is part of the record which has been published in the Jinnah Papers in the form of exchanges of letters. After the independence of Pakistan,
Dr. Afzal Hussain Qadri choose to distance himself from political activities and devoted himself to the promotion of education and science in Pakistan.
There have been few scientists in Pakistan who have declared public service along with science as the goal of life and sacrificed the luxuries of life to achieve it. Regrettably, the list of such people is not long, because most scientists generally kept their work and made a living from it. One name among those who made the life of national service with science is Dr. Afzal Hussain Qadri, who made national development work his life’s goal from the time of his education in Aligarh University.
Ayesha Jalal
Ayesha Jalal, Mary Richardson Professor of History at Tufts University
Medford, Massachusetts, the author of “The Sole Spokesman” and have many other publications at her credit, authenticated the book as described under:
“Among the founding fathers of Pakistan, Dr. Muhammad Afzal Hussain Qadri is best known for the Aligarh Scheme in which he astutely addressed the problems posed by the absence of a link between Muslim identity and territory. A close confidante of Quaid-i-Azam Mohammad Ali Jinnah, Dr. Qadri was a key member of the All-India Muslim League and played a vital role in its deliberations in the final decades before partition. Based on Dr. Qadri’s writings, public and private, and the reminiscences of his close associates, friends, and family members, this collection is an invaluable addition for scholars and students of history. It will be read and discussed widely and serve as a key resource for research into the Pakistan movement by present and future generations for which Mr. Mashhood Qasmi has to be duly applauded.”
Professor Nisar Zubairi
Commenting on the personality as well as regarding the book written on Dr. Muhammad Afzal Hussain Qadri, Prof. Nisar Zuberi, the former President of the Department of Mass Communication, University of Karachi, said,
“This is the great personality who has been remembered with great gratitude and recognition in an extraordinary book “Husool-e-Pakistan tak Quaid-e-Azam ke hamrah: Dr. Muhammad Afzal Hussain Qadri”. This book has been prepared by renowned researcher Muhammad Mashhood Qasmi with extraordinary effort and published by Fazli Book Karachi.”
He further said, “Muhammad Mashhood Qasmi has prepared this distinctive book by exploring almost all relevant sources, which should be considered as a remarkable tribute to the services of Qadri Sahib. The book covers in great detail Qadri’s early life, MSc education at Aligarh University, then PhD, and then PhD at Cambridge University, England. And all this is presented very briefly because according to the author; “ہت تھا گفتنی۔۔ ۔۔” (there was a lot to say. . .).”
Professor Nisar Zuberi further elaborates, “Various subjects have been accommodated in the book which include, Aligarh Scheme for the Establishment of Pakistan, also known as Professor’s Scheme, Pirpur Committee Report, the decisive battle of 1945-46 elections, that many in Pakistan are not aware yet, Qadri Sahib’s political letters, the educational letters, and the letters of Qadri Sahib’s most notable companions. Whichever way you look at it, it is a worthy tribute to an eminent scientist of Pakistan and a selfless worker of Tehreek-e-Pakistan..”
- For a detailed Urdu review please visit, urdu.murasla.pk
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Presidential address by Quaid e Azam in March 1940 on the eve of Lahore Resolution